U.S. INFLAMES TRIDENT STORM
May finally forced to admit she knew of missile test after America reveals it DID ditch into Atlantic
THERESA May last night faced fresh accusations of a cover-up over the Trident nuclear weapons system as American officials confirmed that a missile test ended in failure.
Just as Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon was refusing to tell Parliament any details about the incident, a US official said the rocket had veered off course during a test-fire in June.
The unnamed official confirmed that the missile’s electronics had detected an ‘anomaly’ and self-destructed.
The disclosure was hugely embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who was forced to admit for the first time yesterday that she had been briefed about the weapons test.
Although it took place shortly before she came to power, she said had subsequently been made aware of what she described as a ‘successful certification’ of the submarine involved, HMS Vengeance.
But she refused again to say whether she had been briefed about the alleged mis-fire, insisting only that she retained ‘absolute faith’ in Britain’s nuclear deterrent.
Sir Michael also tried to stonewall on the issue yesterday, insisting it was important not to reveal operational details of the test for reasons of national security. He even accused MPs for risking Britain’s safety after they pushed him for answers in the Commons over the issue.
But critics pointed out that previous successful tests of the Trident system had been mentioned in Government press releases and speeches by ministers.
And just as Sir Michael was addressing Parliament, a US defence official told CNN how the dummy warhead, which could have killed
‘Automatic self-destruct sequence’
millions if armed, had self-destructed and ditched in the ocean after the malfunction.
The official, said to have direct knowledge of the incident, confirmed to CNN that the missile veered off and the test ‘ended in failure’. He verified reports the missile had veered towards the US coast, but said ‘this trajectory was part of an automatic self-destruct sequence’.
‘The official said the missile diverted into the ocean – an automatic procedure when missile electronics detect an anomaly,’ the television network said.
At around the same time, Mrs May confirmed that she had been told about the test when she entered Downing Street in July – and just before a Commons vote on Trident’s £40billion renewal. However, she insisted she had ‘absolute faith’ in the nuclear deterrent programme and said the trial off the coast of Florida on June 20 had been a success for the vessel and its crew.
‘I’m regularly briefed on national security issues, I was briefed on successful certification of HMS Vengeance and her crew,’ she said. ‘We don’t comment on operational details for national security reasons. I have absolute faith in our independent nuclear deterrent.’
On Sunday, the Prime Minister had dodged the question of when she learnt about the test four times during an interview. It was not until yesterday morning that a Number 10 spokesman had admitted that Mrs May was aware of a ‘successful’ test in certifying the crew and submarine.
Sir Michael was summoned to the Commons to give more details but repeatedly refused and restated the Government’s trust in the ‘capability and effectiveness’ of the Trident system.
‘The Government has absolute confidence in our deterrent and in the Royal Navy crews who protect us,’ he told MPs, adding that ministers ‘would not have asked this House to endorse the principle of the deterrent and our plans to build four new submarines if there had been any question about the capability and effectiveness of our deterrent’.
Labour’s former defence minister Kevan Jones, whose urgent question forced the Defence Secretary to come to the Commons, challenged Sir Michael to confirm the missile went off course.
But the Defence Secretary responded: ‘There are very few things that we cannot discuss openly in Parliament, but the security of our nuclear deterrent is certainly one of them.
‘It has never been the practice of governments to give Parliament details of the demonstration and shakedown operations.’
Labour MP Kevin Brennan compared Sir Michael to the Dad’s Army character Captain Mainwaring, asking: ‘Doesn’t the Secretary of State’s characteristic name, rank and serial number, don’t-tell-’em-Pike approach to this actually make no sense at all given that with the reports we
have had? Our American counterparts in the Congress will certainly be given full details of what happened around this test and that his stonewalling here does nothing to strengthen our security and everything to undermine the credibility of this House.’
Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith added: ‘The British public deserve the facts on a matter as important as Britain’s nuclear deterrent and they deserve to hear those facts from their Prime Minister, not in allegations sprawled across a Sunday paper.’
She added: ‘At the heart of this issue is a worrying lack of transparency and a Prime Minister who has chosen to cover up a serious incident.’ Commons Speaker John Bercow was caught on microphone warning that Sir Michael would be ‘stupid’ to pick a fight with the chairman of the defence select committee, Julian Lewis, who had invited him to attend a closed session to discuss the matter.
He muttered that to ‘pick a fight with the chairman of the select committee is a rather stupid thing to do’.